Post by anointedteacher on Jul 21, 2008 21:54:42 GMT -5
by Najee Ali on Jul 20, 2008
urbanthoughtcollective.com/2008/07/20/najee-ali-jesse-jackson-hypocrisy/#comments
I promised myself that I would give Jesse Jackson a break. I didn’t want anyone to misunderstand and think that I had an axe to grind or it was personal. It isn’t. I’m just a truth teller.
In the last two weeks, Jackson made national headlines disgracing himself. He didn’t need my help. He has single handedly eroded his tainted legacy with his crude comments about wanting to surgically remove Sen. Obama’s lower anatomy. Now there is the newly revealed news that Jesse also had the audacity to use the N-word!
A reputable source received a partial transcript of the rest of Jackson’s comments on Fox News and confirmed the transcript was authentic. That’s right, Jesse called black people black persons! This is a huge issue for me because I was there when Jesse came to Los Angeles on November 26, 2006 and held a press conference denouncing comedian Michael Richards, AKA Kramer of Seinfeld fame. Jesse insisted that the word not be used publicly or privately due its offensive nature.
In fact, Jackson called for a boycott of all entertainment media that used the word. Jesse used the incident with Richards to call on the entertainment industry to ban the n-word, including rap artists that use it in the lyrics, actors and major television and movie studios. This campaign was felt in cities around the country, with the New York City Council agreeing to ban it.
Jesse’s press conference in Los Angeles was attended by every major Black leader and organization in the city. He stated: “We will challenge and urge all artists and comics to stop using this (N) word. What other group is subjected to such a degrading terminology?” As Jesse spoke, I agreed with everything he said. As a Muslim, I call Black people either brother or sister in public and privately. In fact, my friends have made the mistake of calling me the N-word as a term of endearment or just using it in my presence. A quick friendly glare and disapproving look quickly corrects them.
As an activist, my group has lead high profile campaigns against the use of the N-word, ranging from protests of gangster rappers to foul mouthed comedians. Even Aaron McGruder (creator of “The Boondocks”), who I respect and love, didn’t escape my criticism.
Which brings me to the question of hypocrisy. We believe it’s very hypocritical for Jackson to have tried to get rappers such as Nas, the entertainment industry and the general public to ban and not use a word that he utilizes himself. Jackson’s already apologized to Obama, but since he wasn’t the target of Jackson’s slur, Jackson should immediately apologize to Blacks for not only berating them, but also apologize for his hypocrisy. I’m realistic. Just because the NAACP symbolically buried the N-word doesn’t mean its dead. In fact, you can hear it all the time with a younger generation whose use of it has a different meaning according to those that use it.
Jesse has no excuse. Anytime you voluntarily advocate on an issue or cause, you can’t engage in what you are advocating against. When former President Bill Clinton received spiritual counseling from Jackson in the middle of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in an attempt to repair his troubled marriage, Jesse was in the middle of his affair and had a child hidden away that the majority of the world was unaware of.
This is the pure definitely of hypocrisy! Jesse has a long history of it. His use of the N-word and his do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do attitude is just one more chapter in the sad story of a fallen leader.
urbanthoughtcollective.com/2008/07/20/najee-ali-jesse-jackson-hypocrisy/#comments
I promised myself that I would give Jesse Jackson a break. I didn’t want anyone to misunderstand and think that I had an axe to grind or it was personal. It isn’t. I’m just a truth teller.
In the last two weeks, Jackson made national headlines disgracing himself. He didn’t need my help. He has single handedly eroded his tainted legacy with his crude comments about wanting to surgically remove Sen. Obama’s lower anatomy. Now there is the newly revealed news that Jesse also had the audacity to use the N-word!
A reputable source received a partial transcript of the rest of Jackson’s comments on Fox News and confirmed the transcript was authentic. That’s right, Jesse called black people black persons! This is a huge issue for me because I was there when Jesse came to Los Angeles on November 26, 2006 and held a press conference denouncing comedian Michael Richards, AKA Kramer of Seinfeld fame. Jesse insisted that the word not be used publicly or privately due its offensive nature.
In fact, Jackson called for a boycott of all entertainment media that used the word. Jesse used the incident with Richards to call on the entertainment industry to ban the n-word, including rap artists that use it in the lyrics, actors and major television and movie studios. This campaign was felt in cities around the country, with the New York City Council agreeing to ban it.
Jesse’s press conference in Los Angeles was attended by every major Black leader and organization in the city. He stated: “We will challenge and urge all artists and comics to stop using this (N) word. What other group is subjected to such a degrading terminology?” As Jesse spoke, I agreed with everything he said. As a Muslim, I call Black people either brother or sister in public and privately. In fact, my friends have made the mistake of calling me the N-word as a term of endearment or just using it in my presence. A quick friendly glare and disapproving look quickly corrects them.
As an activist, my group has lead high profile campaigns against the use of the N-word, ranging from protests of gangster rappers to foul mouthed comedians. Even Aaron McGruder (creator of “The Boondocks”), who I respect and love, didn’t escape my criticism.
Which brings me to the question of hypocrisy. We believe it’s very hypocritical for Jackson to have tried to get rappers such as Nas, the entertainment industry and the general public to ban and not use a word that he utilizes himself. Jackson’s already apologized to Obama, but since he wasn’t the target of Jackson’s slur, Jackson should immediately apologize to Blacks for not only berating them, but also apologize for his hypocrisy. I’m realistic. Just because the NAACP symbolically buried the N-word doesn’t mean its dead. In fact, you can hear it all the time with a younger generation whose use of it has a different meaning according to those that use it.
Jesse has no excuse. Anytime you voluntarily advocate on an issue or cause, you can’t engage in what you are advocating against. When former President Bill Clinton received spiritual counseling from Jackson in the middle of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in an attempt to repair his troubled marriage, Jesse was in the middle of his affair and had a child hidden away that the majority of the world was unaware of.
This is the pure definitely of hypocrisy! Jesse has a long history of it. His use of the N-word and his do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do attitude is just one more chapter in the sad story of a fallen leader.